Category Archives: arnis

Bill McGrath Pekiti Tirsia Workshop – Tues 21st Sept

Quick reminder,

Bill McGrath of Pekiti Tirsia Eskrima will be at Wild Geese next Tuesday (21st September)

This is a 2 hour open training session run by Bill and our own Paul Cox. As Bill is over here on holiday he has not requested payment, however it is only right that each attendee off some kind of donation, the amount is up to you.
Needless to say we will be taking Bill for some after training refreshments, Irish style!

Any of you who are unfamiliar with Bill’s work or even Pekiti Tirsia eskrima, please check out his website:
http://www.pekiti.com/
and here for a profile of the man himself, which includes this picture:

We hope to see you all there.

Regards

Wild Geese
www.wildgeesema.com

Self Defence, Blade Awareness & Security Tactics

This is the last call for anybody interested in the escrima concepts seminar this weekend at Dublin’s Martial Arts Academy, Magennis Place, Pearse St.
Right opposite the DART station.

We are starting at 11am sharp on Sat morning and will be covering weapon and knife defence, blade awareness and self defence/self protection tactics for both civilian and the security industry.

The seminar runs Sat 1100 – 1700 and Sunday 1100 – 1500.
€50/day, or €80 for both days.

We will also be asking all the Irish FMA instructors to sit down over a pint and discuss the formation of the Irish Council of Eskrima, Kali, Arnis Instructors.

See you there.

Wild Geese
www.wg-fit.com
www.wildgeesema.com
any cause but our own

Irish Council of Eskrima Kali Arnis Instructors

Right, it’s about time we got the ball rolling properly.

In 2006 3 people got together and formed a non political umbrella organisation in the UK in order to promote the Filipino martial arts and ensure it’s quality is maintained at a high level. It was fortunate that one of those 3 was Pat O’Malley, in the last 2 years he has cajoled, bribed and bullied representatives of around 20 styles of FMA to join the council.

There are now similar councils in the Philippines (to whom we all answer, yes even Pat!), Italy and New Zealand. I believe Australia and Germany are in the process of forming.

Here in Ireland we are a minority, but we have several notable groups, including in no particular order, and by no means exclusive:
Sayoc Kali
Atienza Kali
Doce Pares Eskrima
Warriors Eskrima
Kalis Illustrissimo
Lescima

I’m sure here are a few more round, lurking under the radar.
There is plenty of room for us all to work together to bring FMA into the light, ensure only qualified instructors are teaching and gain proper recognition.
Having FMA featured in various movies (Bourne, The Hunted etc) and documentaries (Mind, Body &…., Human Weapon and Fight Quest) is great for us, but we could be doing more to promote ourselves.

Drop me a line, or email if your interested in bettering your art. Sure, why wouldn’t you?

The rules and regs of the British council are here http://www.bckeai.co.uk/ the other councils have basically emulated this, and we all report to the Philippine council.

Any questions can be directed to either me or the British council.

Wild Geese
any cause but our own

PS, Don’t forget the upcoming Escrima Concepts weekend

The Wrong End Of the Stick

I often find that peoples view of the Filipino Martial Arts is somewhat inaccurate. I hope here to put it right.

FMA otherwise known as Eskrima, Kali or Arnis are the fighting arts native to the Philippines, and are a complete combat method. Unfortunately the popular view of these arts is that it’s just “Stick Fighting”.

This was illustrated most clearly by the owner of the Martial Arts Academy when he offered to make up posters to advertise our class. Guess what we got.

Yep, you guessed it. “Learn Stick Fighting”

Now while we do train with sticks, no argument there, we also fight with sticks. This is the start point for any new FMAer, learn to swing a stick. But that’s just the beginning.

As I said it’s a complete fighting system used throughout the ages to fight off rival tribes and invasions (including Magellan and the Spanish and later the Japanese in world war 2), would stick fighting cover this.

No. Most people fail to see the unarmed combat, the knife/machete use and defence. The Filipino method is to teach you to instinctively use any weapon that comes to hand to fight against any weapon that comes at you. Be it a punch, kick, blade or blunt instrument. It is this versatility that attracted notable martial artists like Ed Parker, Bruce Lee and Dan Innosanto to add elements taken from Kali/Arnis and add it into their respective styles.

Within FMA there are many areas to cover and masters do specialise, Momoy Canete specialised in longer range Espada y Daga, Cacoy Canete specialised in close range stick fighting. Antonio Illustrisimo specialised in the blade, Joe Borces uses “eskrido” a combination of traditional FMA and Aikido/Judo methods.
But these are the masters. Any student must be able to defend themselves against unarmed and armed attacks while they themselves may or may not be armed.

I have my students fighting 1 on 1, 2 on 1, 2 on 2, every man for themselves and many other combo’s.
I have an unarmed guy fighting against a knife man, or a single stick fighting against double stick. We allow disarms but expect the fight to continue so a fight er becomes used to loosing a weapon but carrying on unarmed, or to suddenly find a weapon and instantly use it.

The competitions may be about “stick fighting” but FMA is about surviving by using whatever comes to hand. It’s about assuming the other guy is armed. It’s about adapting to any scenario.

We are lucky to have had coverage on the recent TV shows. Our own Doce Pares HQ in Cebu was visited in the BBC’s Mind, Body & Kick ass Moves and the History Channels Human Weapon. While Fight Quest remained in Manila showing Pekiti Tirsia and Modern Arnis. Where different aspects of our arts are being shown. But for more info come and visit us, look on you tube (Rapid Arnis have some good clips).

We are also hosting FMA master and Security Expert Steve Tappin in May. Expect to see how FMA is truly effective on the streets of Europe as Steve regularly travel to the worst spots in Europe to train their respective police and security forces.
I almost feel sorry for the criminals, almost.

Come to Steve’s seminar and see how your own training can be enhanced by the Filipino martial arts.

Wild Geese
any cause but our own

3rd British Filipino Martial Arts Festival

The last two FMA Festivals were incredible, this one promises to even bigger and better again.
To be able to get 16 of the top Filipino Martial Arts masters together on one room for the event of the year is simply not to be missed.
The event is fully supported by the British Council of Kali, Eskrima, Arnis Instructors (BCKEAI), which of course is supported by the Philippine Council.
What does that mean?
It means that every instructor has the backing of a genuine Filipino Grand master, there are no fakes here. If you want to increase your understanding of FMA or you just want to witness some of the best, not just in Britain, but world standard eskrimador’s, DO NOT miss this event.
Wild Geese Martial Arts are about good quality instruction, we don’t promote anything that we don’t think is worth while, or any products that we don’t use. That’s a promise.
So if we say the FMA festival is not to be missed, then IT IS NOT TO BE MISSED.
any cause but our own

PS Don’t forget that Steve Tappin of Escrima Concepts will be in Dublin on the 4&5th May. He will be presenting some of the best blade awareness and if you like “RBSD” style FMA. We all know the Filipino’s have some of the best weapon defence in the world, Steve has spent the time adjusting it to suit the European mindset. And yes, it’s been field tested.

Details: www.wildgeesema.com/WGMA-seminars.htm

Escrima Concepts Semiar – Confirmed

Eskrima Concepts Seminar
Martial Art, Self Defence, Security & Sport
with
Master Steve Tappin
Sat 3rd May, 11am – 5 pmSun 4th May, 11am – 3pm
One day €50, 2 Days (Pre book) €80, 2 Days (on Door) €100
Places Are Limited
Venue to be confirmed
Master Steve Tappin Has taken time out of his busy schedule (click here to see how busy) to come to Dublin for the 1st Escrima concepts seminar in Ireland.
Steve travels extensively through out Europe and the rest of the world in teaching his tried and tested methods of armed and unarmed combat to Police and security forces as well as civilian martial arts groups.
Here’s an excerpt from his flyer:
· Escrima Concepts works from concepts NOT techniques, enhanced with a syllabus, theory and strategies.
· Escrima Concepts is weapon independent. This enables the practitioner to use a whole range of weapons.
· Escrima Concepts enables the practitioner to defend against both armed and unarmed assailants.
· Escrima Concepts strengthens the practitioner’s mental strength through a unique training method.
· Escrima Concepts has several professional run tournaments every year.
· All Escrima Concepts instructors have to be approved by the chief instructor.
· Escrima Concepts gives you a chance to train a weapon system that is both traditional and modern.
· Escrima Concepts provide training for Police and Security
· Escrima Concepts provide Blade Awareness and Environmental Training (including stress control and avoiding conflicts)
· Escrima Concepts is a worldwide organisation.
· Escrima Concepts is a Founding Member of the WMAA (Alliance) and the EHCG (European Historical Combat Guild)
Only one that reguarly trains with weapons has a chance against an armed assailant!
for more info:
phone +353 87 672 6090
any cause but our own

Escrima Concepts Seminar

Quick note, Steve Tappin of Escrima Concepts has confirmed he will be coming to Ireland to teach a seminar for us.

If you’re an eskrimador, martial artist or security professional, don’t miss this opportunity to train with one of the best in the industry.

Steve agreed to take time out from his busy schedule (check out the calender page on his website) travelling to teach all over europe, to come to us for the weekend of May 2-4th.

Call back for more info, as soon as I get the artwork sorted out I’ll have info posted here.

Wild Geese Martial Arts
any cause but our own

12th Anniversary of the Black Eagle Society

Post taken from the Rapid Arnis forum site, view the original posts here
———————————————————————————————–

The Black Eagle Society

Formation
The Black Eagle Society was founded in the Summer of 1996. The inaugural meeting took place in a wood in Barnet, North London.
The meeting had been arranged by Pat O’Malley and Simon Wells (of LaPunti Arnis de Abaniko) who first tried to get this format of fighting off the ground back in 1992, also in attendance at this first meeting of the Black Eagles were, Jonathan Broster, Shiraz Hussain and two of Wells’ students.
Pat O’Malley and Simon Wells are known as the two original founders of the Black Eagle Society. Simon, after only a short time, left the group leaving Pat in sole charge of the organization which still hosts events to this day.

Name
The name Black Eagle Society was chosen to pay tribute to the influence on the founding members of the Lapunti Arnis de Abaniko style because both Pat O’Malley and Simon Wells were training with Lapunti at the time, the emblem of Lapunti shows a black eagle clutching two sticks.
The group’s first logo was designed by Jonathan Broster and shows a cartoon eagle holding a stick in its winged hand. The motto of the group is “Vera Est”, Latin for: “It is real”. The cartoon eagle logo was later replaced with a Celtic designed eagle to also depict the fact that the group originally comes from the Celtic region of Great Britain.

Rationale
The group was formed in response to the desire among some members to move beyond the WEKAF style, armoured stick fighting events and incorporate a higher degree of realism in the bouts.
The rules and equipment used were, and remain, minimal. Curiously, no winner is declared after each bout; instead, it is for the two contestants and those watching to draw their own conclusions and learn what they can from the match.

Rules & Equipment
Put simply, each fighter should be able to walk away from the bout as friends. Bouts are fought over one three minute round, with either fighter having the right to end the bout at any time. Each fighter wears a headguard of their choice (routinely a WEKAF helmet), light gloves, such as cricket gloves (if desired) and a groin protector.
The rules permit any thrust or strike with one stick, two sticks or any combination of wooden weapons, together with any punches, kicks or other blows, as well as throws and ground-fighting techniques.

Membership
At the inaugural meeting it was decided that full membership of the group would be open to those who had participated in no less than three separate official Black Eagle meetings.

Since its inception many other Filipino martial arts styles and practitioners have participated and many top FMA notables including John Harvey, Phil Norman and Neil McLeod have participated in society meetings on previous occasions.

Comparisons
An interesting comparison has at times been drawn between the bouts of the Black Eagles and those of the Dog Brothers.
Where the Dog Brothers have a heavy grappling influence, by way of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there has always been less emphasis on ground fighting in Black Eagle Society bouts, where striking, fast stick handling, blocking, footwork and evasion tactics of the traditional Filipino martial arts have been more evident. More importance is placed on the use of the weapon and all in the Society accept that if there were no headguard and the stick were to be replaced with the more traditionally used sword, grappling would very seldom happen in a real Eskrima Kali Arnis bout. All players (as the participants are known) try to stay as close to the traditional Eskrima Kali Arnis as possible, unlike the Dog Brothers who are known to mix various arts from other countries in to their format.

Anniversary
Celebrating it’s 12th Anniversary, April 15th 2008 will see the biggest ever meeting of the Black Eagle Society.
This is the UK’s Original NHB FMA event with just head gear, light gloves and groin box that has over the last 12 years attracted many top UK FMA practitioners.

With each bout timed to a maximum of 3 minutes the meets are open to all serious non egotistcal FMAers who wish to test their skills up against like minded afficianados of the Filipino martial arts.
This meeting will see both novice and expearianced Black Eagle Society members coming together to enjoy that days sparring. This event is only open to those FMAers who wish to participate in the days sparring matches, no casual spectators allowed.

All players may also video both their own and other bouts on the day.

The event will be held in Dartford, Kent. Venue to be announced in the new year to all those who wish to participate.

If you would like further details, get in touch.

YBIFMA

Pat O’Malley
Co-Founder of The Black Eagle Society.
http://www.rapidarnis.com/

British Council FMA Festival

Wild Geese Martial Arts have a close affiliation with the British Council of Kali Escrima Arnis Instructors (http://www.bckeai.co.uk/) and attended both last years FMA festival and this years massive FMA festival.

Fortunately, Peter Lewis of Zu-Bu Kails Illustrissimo has saved me the trouble of writing a review, have a look at this special edition of the FMA Digest:http://www.fmadigest.com/Issues/special-issues/2007/Special-Issue_FMAFestival_United-Kingdom.exe

Read and enjoy. This event, and the growing strength of the British council shows us that martial arts and martial artists from different styles and backgrounds can get along and work together.

Lets drop the politics, were too much a minority to be fractured.

Oh and news just in, Steve Tappin of Escrima Concepts (read about him in the report) has confirmed that he’ll be coming to Dublin to present a seminar. I’ll post more details soon.

Wild Geese Martial Arts
any cause but our own